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Nike Gives Kobe His Own Shoes
The company signed Bryant to a five-year, $40 million deal in June 2003, just days before he was accused of raping a 19-year-old woman in Colorado. Since criminal charges against Bryant have been dropped and the civil suit was settled, Nike has slowly been rolling out its campaign for the Los Angeles Lakers guard. Earlier this month, Nike bought a two-page ad that appeared just inside the cover of Sports Illustrated, in which Bryant rationalizes that he works harder on his conditioning when he hears the critics call him names like "a ballhog" and "a baby." "It's devoid of any specific Kobe characteristic," said Ed O'Hara, chief creative officer of SME, a design company that has done more than 2,000 sports logos. "Since the silhouetted player is now a thing of the past, Nike is counting on people making the association between the logo and Bryant. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Lakers' Ronny Turiaf Undegoes Successful Heart SurgeryLos Angeles Lakers second-round draft pick Ronny Turiaf underwent heart surgery Tuesday and was expected to make a full recovery, the team said. The former Gonzaga star had surgery to repair an enlarged aortic root and preserve his aortic valve. He's expected to be hospitalized about a week. The six-hour operation was performed by Dr. Craig Miller at the Stanford University Medical Center. Turiaf, selected 37th overall in the draft, was diagnosed with an enlarged aortic root during a team physical after the draft. Had the condition not been caught and treated it could have been fatal, team spokesman John Black said. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Turiaf Has Enlarged Heart, Will Need Open-Heart SurgeryRonny Turiaf, the Los Angeles Lakers' second-round pick at No. 37 overall and the West Coast Conference player of the year as a senior, has an enlarged heart and will need open-heart surgery, ESPN reported. Turiaf's condition was confirmed by his agent, Bouna Ndiaye, who said the problem was diagnosed during extensive medical testing in Los Angeles. Lakers spokesman John Black reportedly said Turiaf will have the surgery in 4-6 weeks. A press conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. PT on Friday in Los Angeles. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Lakers Jul 2005 Archive
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Nike unveiled its Kobe Bryant logo on the fourth version of its Air Huarache 2K5 shoes, which debuted Tuesday.